Toy Story and the Gospel

I've watched the original Toy Story a few times recently with my sons Caleb and Carter, and through the lens of the Gospel it tells a compelling story indeed!

Buzz Lightyear is a toy who thinks he's a space ranger. He flies around the room, impressing the other toys with his impressive wing span and flashing laser. He's stolen the loyalty and affection of the other toys and Andy, the boy, from Woody. Woody used to be King in Andy's room, but with Buzz Lightyear's arrival he's been knocked down a few notches and is now just a regular toy.

Woody spends the majority of the movie trying to convince Buzz that he's delusional in thinking he's a space ranger. 'You are a TOY!' he screams at one point, 'A child's play thing!' Buzz doesn't buy it, and thinks that Woody is delusional and unwilling to accept how wonderful he really is. About 2/3 into the movie, Buzz happens to see a commercial of himself, showing that he is, in fact, a toy like several hundred of others just like him. He tries once again to fly in order to gain his freedom and prove his worth, only to fall flat on the ground, breaking his toy body into pieces. Faced with his delusion, Buzz finds himself with no identity, no purpose, no hope. He no longer sees any value in himself, until Woody reminds him that his value is found in his owner's eyes. Andy is who matters, and the value that Andy places on Buzz, or on any other toy, is the value that they truly have. Woody then reveals his own deep struggle, which is facing up to the fact that because Buzz has come along, Woody feels he no longer has any value in Andy's eyes. Buzz realizes that all that matters is getting back to their purpose of enhancing Andy's life. He rescues Woody, who in turn rescues him, and they ultimately find their purpose and greatest happiness in being the toys that Andy loves.

Buzz is like a lot of us. He is self-assured, and in that he overestimates who he is and what he's capable of. He can't be told he's less than what he thinks because he has learned all his life 'you can do whatever you set your mind to' and 'you need to tap into the power you have within yourself'. He'll accomplish anything, and overcome any obstacle because he is spectacular. He's not 'just some toy', he's significant.

Likewise, many people I talk to believe this about themselves. Their only worth is self-worth. It comes from being who they decide they are, and nobody can take that away from them or tell them otherwise. Popular media, particular pop music, reinforces this destructive delusion. They won't listen to the Woody's who try to help them understand who they truly are, because they see those people as the negative nay-sayers who will only bring then down and hamper their self-achievement. They believe they are good, powerful, capable and free. But in reality, they are human like the rest of us. They're not altogether good; they're selfish. They're not all-powerful; they're limited. They're not fully capable; they're restricted. And they're not free; they're bound by sin.

Is allowing the Buzz Lightyears to continue in their delusion a loving thing to do? The other toys thought so. They were impressed by his novelty. But what happens when that novelty wears off? What happens when 'falling with style' becomes just 'falling'? Is it unloving to let people know 'you're a sinner, living by the grace of God!'? Woody's exasperation at Buzz's denial of his true identity seems rude, callous, and mean. But until Buzz realized that Woody had been right all along, he didn't live up to his highest potential or experience true joy and purpose.

But we could also do great damage by only telling half the Toy Story. Buzz wasn't all he thought he was - he was much more! The movie didn't end with Buzz sulkily sipping tea as Mrs Nesbit, but instead with Buzz and Woody saving the day for Andy, relieving his broken heart, creating joy for him and, in that, for themselves. Buzz wasn't only stripped of a false identity; he was given a new, better one! In the same way, even as in love we help people realize that they're not all that, that what's inside isn't all that great, we also need to tell them that they're much more, and that God loves them and THAT makes all the difference. 'You are a GREAT toy!' Woody says to Buzz. I think great damage has been done to the Gospel by Christians who emphasize this part without the first part. The message gets muddy, because people are left thinking that they're great on their own merit. That their greatness is innate by who they pretend to be. But it wasn't until Buzz realized that he's not great in the ways that he had though he was, that he was able to understand that he is great because Andy loves him. When we just tell people, 'Jesus loves you' they likely think, 'of course he does, why wouldn't he?' They need to come face-to-face with who they really are before they can accept the wonder of God's great love for them. But I also wonder how often I have missed this second piece of the Gospel, instead letting people believe I think they're worthless because they're human. We need to be balanced in our presentation of the whole Gospel.

By the end of Toy Story, we get the idea that Buzz has learned two things: that he is just a toy, and that Andy loves him very much. It reminds me of a quote by John Newton: "My memory is nearly gone; but I remember two things; That I am a great sinner, and
that Christ is a great Saviour." It also reminds me of 1 Timothy 1:15 "The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the foremost" and Romans 5:8 "but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us."

Toy Story is a great story. It reminds me that BOTH sides of the Gospel, both human depravity and human worth, need to be preached. I can't wait to see what I'll learn from the next 3 films in the franchise!